The idea that Donald Trump’s impeachment has been “completely partisan” is a talking point that Republicans, including Trump, have used as reflexively as breathing. It’s been at the middle of every claim that the process against Trump was somehow unfair, somehow different from that faced by Bill Clinton, and somehow violated statements House Democrats had previously made about the need for multiparty support in an impeachment. But the truth is that the House vote wasn’t purely partisan, because the vote for Trump’s impeachment also included the support of Justin Amash.
Amash would have still been a Republican except that he was forced out of the Republican caucus back in July explicitly because he failed to join with other Republicans in wholeheartedly supporting Trump when it came to the results of the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Now Mitt Romney has voted for Trump’s removal based on the evidence in the impeachment trial. And it’s no surprise who wants to put Romney’s head on a pike.
In a Jan. 24 story, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reported, "A Trump confidant tells CBS News that Republican senators have been warned: Vote against the president and your head will be on a pike.” But when Rep. Adam Schiff mentioned this in the Senate—despite correctly citing the source and saying he hoped it wasn’t true—Republican senators got a serious case of the vapors. Susan Collins shouted out, “That’s not true,” and Indiana Republican Mike Braun declared, "There’s never been arm-twisting.” The chest-beating and moaning continued into the night, with Fox News hosts making this statement the Designated Thing To Be Offended About for that day of the trial.
The idea that Trump would not take vengeance on any senator who didn’t vote his way was always ridiculous. Of course he would. Of course he will. Vengeance is Trump’s middle name. He just spells it funny.
But while Trump himself is having a moment of funk, or has smashed his phone, in the aftermath of Romney’s genuinely stirring speech, the man whose entire existence is a demonstration that there are worse Donald Trumps than Donald Trump jumped in to show exactly how accurate the “pike” statement was all along. Tweeting on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump Jr. proclaimed that Mitt Romney “should be expelled from the Senate GOP conference” and added the hashtag #expelMitt.
Fox News began promoting the tweet shortly after it appeared, and Trump supporters are working hard to get the tag trending (though, so far, unsuccessfully). Break out the pikes!
Why is Trump Jr. so mad at Romney? For doing what Junior could never do.
Fox host Chris Wallace tells Romney that his action means "this is war." Wallace: "Donald Trump will never forgive you for this." Romney replies by quoting from a hymn: �Do what is right. Let the consequence follow.�
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) February 5, 2020